Month: August 2010

Back in the day, I thought I didn’t like lagers. It probably happens to a lot of American beer geeks early on – after all, the macro lagers that dominate the brewing industry in this country are what gave North American brewing its poor reputation – one that is still clearly held by many people who should know better, if the comments on this recent Gizmodo post on canned (craft) beer are anything to judge by. Even after a few years of solid beer geekdom, I was still in the ‘ales are vastly superior to lagers’ camp, largely due to my own ignorance of the range of lagers out there – I was finally introduced to a number of great lagers and discovered that I found many of them quite tasty indeed.

After all, while they share some origins and brewing techniques, there’s a world of difference between a Bud Light and a good Munich Helles, like Stoudt’s Gold Lager, or Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, which I believe outranks DAB Exportas the prime example of the Dortmunder Export style. By the same token, the notion that a Doppelbock like Tröegs Troegenator and Coors shared anything beyond a vague sense of Things German would have confused me – after all, one is like drinking pond water (although, one hopes, without the giardia), and the other is practically a (good) meal – yet they are both lagers.

Perhaps my favorite sub-category within Lagerland is the Oktoberfest/märzen – the style should have plenty of malty goodness, but without being terribly sweet or overly heavy. But it’s always fun to break the rules a bit (and, despite the links above, I’m no stickler for BJCP guidelines except when judging something that’s clearly miscategorized; creativity is almost always more fun) – andGreat Lakes does that with theirs, while still maintaining the spirit of the style. While not universally the case, American Oktoberfests tend to be a little stronger than their German cousins, so its 6.5% ABV is pretty normal in that regard. The Cleveland-based brewery always does a bang-up job with German styles (note their abovementioned Dortmunder Gold), as you might expect given its German-American heritage – no doubt you are aware that the goal of many Prohibitionists was to curtail the growing political power of German-Americans, who were at that time the designated group of ‘scary’ immigrants – and, in large part, it worked. But I digress – back to the beer.

While Oktoberfests often have a spicy hop aroma, this is one of the few I’ve tried that also had a lot of floral hop flavor. It may have just been that it was a very fresh pint indeed (poured from a sixtel straight from the brewery), but I liked this surprise element a lot, even if it’s not officially ‘sanctioned’ in the style. It still had the usual bready, biscuity aroma and taste, and it certainly made me wish it were fall. I hope to enjoy another glass of this beer with crisper weather on tap.

San Diego’s Coronado Brewing Company makes some tasty West Coast-style IPAs, but their Black Perle was something a little different – a schwarzbier from the other coast. It’s evident from many onlinereviews of this beer that even many beer geeks don’t come across schwarzbiers terribly often, so perhaps a brief introduction to the style is in order. Yes, it’s a dark beer, but (as with many darker beers), it’s not heavy by any means – it’s a lager, and it should have a clean lager finish, without the heavier mouthfeel of something like a Baltic Porter (which, despite the name, is also a lager, and is much heavier/more alcoholic than a schwarzbier) . In relatively normal English, a schwarzbier should have dark, toasty malts, but it features a light body and is usually under 5% ABV. It’s a versatile style – eminently sessionable, but also quite satisfying. Germany’s Köstritzer tends to be the most easily-found example (and that typically involves locating your friendly neighborhood German beer hall), so it’s nice to see American craft brewers taking it on.

While it’s something of a wild overgeneralization, the truism that the East Coast makes the best lagers and the West Coast returns the favor with IPAs does have some validity; Coronado does, indeed, make some fabulous IPAs (notably Idiot) – but I’m happy to report they can doing things German-style equally well. The beer is, as the name of the style suggests, black as a Spinal Tap album cover (note that TJ’s pleasing exposed brick wall isn’t visible through the beer in the photo); there’s a thin tan head and a pleasant bready/toasty aroma. The toastiness (and even a bit of smoke) carries on in the flavor, along with a good amount of hoppy bitterness. One presumes that the beer’s oddly-spelled name comes from the hop variety employed – Perle hops are a German-bred variety that is now widely grown in the Pacific Northwest – and they are used to good effect here.

Brewster’s Brewery is a small, independent brewery in the UK, founded by Sara Barton (who is also the head brewer – or, more correctly, brewster); they are one of a growing number of woman-powered microbreweries around the world. From their base in Grantham, Linconshire, their reputation for high-quality beers has continued to spread – it’s not just for CAMRA anymore. Shelton Brothers distributes Brewster’s beers in the US, although they can still be somewhat difficult to come by – but based on a taste of their Mata Hari – part of their ‘Wicked Women’ series – they are well worth seeking out.

Before getting on to the actual tasting notes, it is worth noting that Brewster’sregular beers tend to be considerably lower in alcohol than those of most American craft brewers; while there is much to appreciate in many a high-gravity beer (there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Pliny the Elder – thank you, Russian River!) it’s nice to be able to have more than one or two in one sitting, especially if (like me) you tend to the smaller side of the height/weight scale – or if your city lacks decent public transit and you need to drive home from your favorite watering hole. Lew Bryson’s Session Beer Project is helping to encourage US brewers to make a few more lower-alcohol-but-still-great beers, and we’re lucky here in the Philadelphia area to have easy access to Yards Brawler(a Mild) and Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Kenzinger (a Kölsch). Both are great go-to beers; beyond their lower alcohol, they are also useful recruitment tools – perfect for introducing a friend to craft beer.

But back to the Mata Hari (and apologies for the terrible photo – ChurchKey is many things, but well-lit is not one of them, although it’s quite pleasant in that regard); it pours a coppery color, with a thinly-foaming head – both perfectly good things for a bitter. It has more of an earthy hop aroma than you tend to find in mass-produced bitters, and the taste is perfect – malty goodness without going overboard into some other style, and still a nice, subtle hop kick. I should point anyway that the hops used are Fuggles (which are growing better in our garden than in previous years, oddly, despite the extreme heat this summer), Northdown and Progress, but really, who needs an excuse to work the word ‘Fuggles’ into a sentence?

It’s a great beer for just about any occasion – it was perfect with my meal on a hot day, but would be equally at home as a warm-up after a chilly day. It’s a response in a bottle to those who might believe that a beer must be extremely hoppy and/or high in alcohol and/or brewed with coffee (or another nonstandard ingredient) to be worthy of special pursuit – it can just be really, really good. And supporting female brewers is also a very cool thing – it’s another reason you should go LikeBrewster’s Brewery on Facebook now.

After previous highly-successful visits to their sister restaurant, Rustico, in Alexandria, VA, we finally managed to fit in a visit to ChurchKey, which opened last year to great acclaim. Unlike some revered beer destinations that don’t quite live up to perhaps unrealistic hype, ChurchKey exceeded all expectations. The interior is laid-back in design, yet sleek, with tables by the window and cozy raised booths near the fifty-plus tap bar, which is clearly the focal point.

And it’s a thoroughly-impressive tap list, helpfully laid out in categories that are equally approachable by hardcore beer geeks as well as the uninitiated (one minor complaint – that list could be updated more frequently on their website). Information for each beer includes the brewer, style, origin, ABV, ideal serving temperature and usual serving glass, although each item was also available as a 4oz taster (even the five cask ales) – something our party made much use of. But the bottle list is not to be overlooked – it contains well-curated rarities from around the world as well as traditional favorites; you know it’s good when it comes in a binder, and you don’t have to go to your fourth pick to actually get something that’s in stock. Given the weather in DC in summer, finding Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse on tap was certainly welcome; having a waiter who understood ‘and I’d like the woodruff on the side’ was even better; indeed, the service was outstanding throughout our visit (something that isn’t always true when you bring a small child with you, even at a quiet lunchtime).

The food is also very tasty and should not be overlooked, but you’re no doubt wondering which beers were top of the list on this visit. Schlafly Pumpkin Ale offered a spicy fall preview, whileOmmegang Cup O Kyndnes was an unusual combination of heather, malty and peaty goodness. Although we tried a wide variety (thanks, again to the handy 4 oz tasters), one of my favorites was Brewster’s Brewery Mata Hari – something that will be receiving its own review in the near future.

So while there is not a terribly convenient Metro stop by ChurchKey, you should still seek it out if you happen to be in the District; there’s something for every palate or mood, and the friendly, well-trained staff make a visit even more pleasant – it’s all rather tremendous.

With that somewhat rambling prologue out of the way, I’ll get right to the review – I’m disappointed to say it was only OK. It looked great when poured – deep brown, tan head, nice (if somewhat unexpectedly subtle) hop aroma, but when it came to the actual taste, that’s where things weren’t exactly right. I’ve sampled some homebrewed beers in this style that don’t quite get the hops and roastiness working together as they should, imparting a somewhat ashy taste, and I’m sorry to say I noticed a very similar taste with Back in Black. While that flavor was at the forefront, it also lacked a certain depth beyond that; one of the great things about this style is that there are usually a number of different complementary (granted, some would say competing) tastes, while this was very one-note.

Was it terrible? No – it just wasn’t up to the usual very high standard set by the brewery. Sublimely Self-Righteous is still the standard in this category – but it’s great to see more brewers jumping on board. A willingness to experiment, even when it’s not always 100% successful, is a fine thing – and something that sets the craft beer industry apart.

While Ninkasi’s Spring Reign and Black Raven’s Tamerlame were both fabulous, this entry from Colorado’s Tommyknocker Brewery is now also a serious contender for my favorite new (or at least ‘new to me’) beer this year. I won’t go through the entire BJCP checklist (aroma, appearance, etc.), I will say that it’s got a particularly pleasing grassy hop aroma – yes, the official description says ‘citrusy’ and there’s a bit of that there, but it’s not a full-on west-coast-style hoppiness. Perhaps the most surprising element of the beer is the deep chocolate flavor contrasted with the hops; it lends an oatmeal-stout-like silkiness, yet the mouthfeel (yes, I just said ‘mouthfeel’) is completely different – it’s still clearly an IPA.

While not sweet (beyond the general maltiness), it lacks the roasty bitterness one might expect when first examining the beer – there’s a pleasing hop bitterness, to be sure, but it’s balanced well with the malt to offer a unique character. The history of this one-time beer is worth noting: it was brewed to honor Free the Hops, an Alabama organization that successfully lobbied their state legislature to lift the 6% ABV limit imposed on locally-available beers.

So, is this beer worth a little extra effort to seek out? Most assuredly.

Why, you may ask, have you added yet another domain? Why not just update your Philadelphia Beer Bars Examiner blog more often, as you used to? The answer is twofold: first, I want to write about beer from beyond Philadelphia (even if I’ve most likely consumed it in a great Philly-area bar or restaurant), and, perhaps more importantly, while I have time to dash off a quick review, keeping abreast of everything that’s happening locally takes more free time than I have at present.

So, what will you find here? Beer reviews, plugs for bars and restaurants I like and general craft beer evangelism; if I can add to the ranks of Ladies of Craft Beer, I’m doing my job!

And if you’re a first-time visitor (welcome!) who wants to know whether the ‘weird’ modifies the beer or the girl, you wouldn’t be wrong to assume it’s a bit of both – I’m a BJCP-certified beer geek (and beer runner) who enjoys seeking out new and hard-to-find beers, but without the slavish devotion to Westy 12 – I like it, sure, but I like many other things much more.

In addition to the Examiner link above, there are a few year-end beer roundups to get you started; and so, without further ado, the first quick review under the new system – read on!